Environmental policy and administrative management

In North Kazakhstan most productive lands are in use for grain production. Wheat monoculture practice and lack of fertilizers usage have lead to land productivity depletion on 20-25%. Those lands fall out of use and become wastelands. Wastelands usually have low humus content, disturbed soil structure, and low content of absorbable phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and microelements. To restore these lands the lost components of productivity should be refilled. One of the most accessible ways to solve this problem is meadow formation with perennial forage grasses. Leguminous can enrich soil with nitrogen and permanent grasses restore soil structure thanks to their fibrous root system. In addition to create optimal conditions for perennial grasses growth and development there is need in fertilizing especially on the first stage of development. There is a lot of livestock manure around Zhumai village, which can be used as natural fertilizer and allow farmers to gather organic forage and then produce organic meat and milk. Project aim: Restoration of degraded lands through manure application as organic fertilizer on the degraded lands and wastelands for production of organic forage for cattle and eventually organic livestock farming produce. Project tasks: - Demonstration of possibilities for manure application as organic fertilizer on the degraded lands and wastelands for production of organic forage for cattle - Education of farmers on manure composting and its application as valuable organic fertilizer Project results: - Increased crop capacity of perennial grasses by 12-15% - Increased the protein content of forage biomass at 0.5-0.7% - Increased organic matter in the root zone of soil by 0.2-0.3% - Improved soil structure by increasing soil aggregates more than 1.0 mm in diameter - Breeders trained, got compost and use it as organic fertilizer for fodder crops

Kazakhstan